Donald J. Ramsell was born on November 28, 1958. He is married to his wife Veronica, and has two daughters, Jennifer and Anne. He is a resident of St. Charles, Illinois. His interests include golf, Corvettes, the Cubs, travel, and winning cases.
Donald Ramsell has the proud distinction of having argued Illinois v. Lidster, a DUI/roadblock case, before the United States Supreme Court. In the past 24 years, his law firm has defended over 13,000 drivers. He is Board Certified in DUI Defense; the NCDD State Delegate for Illinois and a Sustaining Member of the National College for DUI Defense. Don is also a Certified Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor.
In 2009, Donald’s book, Illinois DUI Law and Practice Guidebook was published by West Publishing. Also, the second edition of Ramsell’s co-authored national book, Inside the Mind: Understanding DUI Scientific Evidence published by Aspatore Books, was released. Also in 2009, Don argued two DUI cases before the Illinois Supreme Court, and he successfully completed a course in gas chromatography.
In November of 2009, Don Ramsell successfully argued that the Illinois DUI Vehicle Forfeiture statute was unconstitutional. This ruling has made front page headlines in the largest legal newspaper in Illinois.
In 2008, Don was added as a contributing Board Member to the nationally acclaimed DWI Journal: Law & Science’. Also in 2008, Donald Ramsell completed reliability hearings ordered by the Illinois Supreme Court regarding the sobriety test known as horizontal gaze nystagmus’.
Donald was the only Illinois Attorney identified as an Illinois Super Lawyer in DUI Defense in 2009. Ramsell has presented to DUI Attorneys in New Orleans, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, Illinois, Nevada, Massachusetts, Missouri, the Bahamas, and nationwide through webinars at Thomson-West Publishing.
Donald is a Past President of the DuPage County Bar Association (2,000 Members) a past ABA Delegate, and Past President of the DuPage County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Don is also a former Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Traffic Law Section Council and an ISBA State delegate. Don has appeared on Oprah Winfrey, ABC’s 20/20, Nancy Grace, Hannity & Colmes, and his cases have been featured in London’s Financial Times and mentioned in over 229 newspapers worldwide.
In 2006, Ramsell successfully fought and obtained orders compelling the ISP Breath Testing Section to begin downloading and turning over the internal memory of the breath testing machines, which has revealed numerous errors in breath testing equipment being used across Illinois.
In 2005, Chicago Magazine first named Donald Ramsell an Illinois Super Lawyer. He has been so identified again in 2006 2007, 2009, and 2011 – 2020. Also, Donald Ramsell became the first Illinois attorney ever to become Board Certified in the area of DUI Defense under the American Bar Association‘s standards, through the National College for DUI Defense.
In 2004, the Chicago Sun Times identified Mr. Ramsell as one of the top 5 DUI Defense Attorneys in the State of Illinois.
In 1999, after a two-year investigation, Ramsell discovered that the Department of Public Health had failed to perform critical testing on breath testing equipment, causing test results to be suppressed across the state. Later that same year, the IDPH was forced to turn over control of the entire program to the State Police.
In 1998, Ramsell successfully proved that the Intoxilyzer 5000 (Series 6400 and 6600) breath testing instrument software had been rigged to produce false-negative air blank results, causing all breath tests using that model to become inadmissible in the State of Illinois.
In 1988, Ramsell discovered that the statewide breath testing program was falsifying testing documents, again causing thousands of tests to become suspect.
In 1986, Donald J. Ramsell discovered that the statewide breath testing program was using questionable procedures in certifying breathalyzers, causing thousands of tests to become disputed, and forcing immediate changes in the program.
Education:
- Juris Doctor, Law Degree, DePaul University, 1984
- Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice, Loyola University, 1981